UK Google Play Store Claim

This website has been created to inform members of the public about the opt-out collective claim brought by Liz Coll against Google in relation to charges in the Google Play Store.

Liz’s claim is on behalf of all UK consumers and businesses who have spent money on digital content within the UK version of the Google Play Store.

Liz alleges that Google has breached competition law by excluding competition and/or charging an unlawful level of commission on digital purchases in the Google Play Store.

The collective claim is against Google.

Google has allegedly breached competition law by abusing its dominant position by excluding competition and/or charging an unfair and excessive level of commission in the Google Play Store; usually as much as 30%. As a result, consumers and businesses are very likely to have suffered financial loss and may be entitled to damages.

The class representative is Liz Coll. Liz has dedicated her professional life to creating a safe and fair digital world where consumers come first.

She has held a number of senior positions in UK and international consumer organisations including Citizens Advice, Consumer Focus and Consumers International, focusing on issues including e-commerce, consumer internet of things, AI, data privacy, and the impact of platforms on consumer choice, redress and fair treatment. Liz now works as a consumer technology policy consultant, providing support and advice to organisations that want to build a fair and trusted digital world.

Liz has been certified by the Competition Appeal Tribunal to bring a claim on behalf of all UK consumers and businesses who may have been overcharged in the UK version of the Google Play Store. If successful, every member of the class may be entitled to a share of any compensation.

If Google is found to hold a dominant position, it has a special responsibility to ensure its conduct does not subject its customers to unfair prices or trading conditions. This includes a responsibility not to engage in conduct that forecloses the market to competition and not to charge excessive prices. In an age where there is an increasing use of digital platforms and apps by businesses and consumers, it is even more essential that they are treated fairly.

Hausfeld & Co. LLP are the lawyers providing legal advice and support to Liz Coll.

Vannin Capital, a commercial litigation funder, is financing the claim.

Hausfeld & Co. LLP is a leading international law firm specialising in competition law, with significant expertise in all aspects of collective redress and group claims – often acting against some of the largest corporations in the world. In particular, Hausfeld & Co. LLP is experienced in managing litigation against global “Big Tech” companies.

Vannin is a member of the Association of Litigation Funders of England and Wales and complies with that organisation’s Code of Conduct.

A collective claim (also known as ‘collective proceedings’) is brought by a class representative on behalf of a group of claimants who have allegedly suffered similar loss as a result of a breach of competition law. The group of claimants is referred to as a ‘class’ and each claimant in the group is referred to as a ‘class member’.

Collective claims in the UK can only be brought in the Competition Appeal Tribunal, which specialises in resolving competition law disputes.

The collective claim is brought on an opt-out basis for individuals and businesses domiciled in the UK.

If you were living, or your business was domiciled, in the UK on 18 July 2022, and you or your business fall within the definition of the ‘class’, you or your business are automatically included in Liz Coll’s collective claim and will be bound by any judgment or settlement unless you chose to opt-out of the proceedings and informed Liz of that choice by 28 November 2022.

Liz has been certified by the Competition Appeal Tribunal to act as the class representative. Therefore, she is conducting the collective claim against Google on behalf of all class members, save those that chose to opt-out of the claim. Liz is responsible for communicating with and issuing formal notices to the class members. Liz will continue to communicate with class members via updates and announcements posted on this website, email correspondence and written notices.

To assist her in her role, Liz has established a consultative group of individuals experienced in sectors relevant to the collective claim.

The members of the consultative group are:

• Sir Gerald Barling – Sir Gerald Barling is a retired High Court Judge and formerly the President of the Competition Appeal Tribunal. Sir Gerald is a leading expert in competition law and the collective actions regime.
• Dr Christine Riefa – Dr Christine Riefa is an academic specialising in consumer law. Christine has also acted as a consultant in respect of a number of projects for consumer organisations such as Consumers International and BEUC.
• Mark O’Keefe – Mark O’Keefe is the Founding Director of Optima Consultancy, a Panel Member of the Payment Systems Regulator and Independent Non-Executive Chair at PIPO UK (ByteDance). Mark has worked in the payments field for over 20 years.

Aidene Walsh was previously a member of the consultative group but resigned due to her appointment as Chair of the Payment Systems Regulator in March 2023. Mark O’Keefe, who is also an expert in the payments industry, has therefore been appointed in place of Ms Walsh.

Liz’s claim was filed on 28 July 2021 alongside an application for a Collective Proceedings Order. This is the first step for collective claims and requests that the Competition Appeal Tribunal consider the claim and certify that (a) the class representative is suitable to be authorised to represent the class and (b) that the claim is suitable to be brought as a collective claim.

Liz’s application for a Collective Proceedings Order was subsequently heard by the Competition Appeal Tribunal on 18 July 2022. At the hearing, the Competition Appeal Tribunal ‘certified’ Liz’s claim (i.e., it granted Liz’s application for a Collective Proceedings Order so the claim can proceed to the next stage).

If Liz’s claim proceeds to trial (i.e. if it is not settled beforehand), the Competition Appeal Tribunal will decide whether to make an aggregate award of damages. If made, the award will be distributed to class members based on a distribution method approved by the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Generally, disputes of this scale take a number of years to resolve. Please register by clicking the 'Stay Up To Date' button on this website to be notified of developments directly.

The claim could settle at any point. Any settlement reached between Liz and Google must first be approved by the Competition Appeal Tribunal and must be just and reasonable. If Liz settles the claim in exchange for a sum of money from Google, that sum of money will be distributed to class members.

If you fit the criteria of the class and were living or (in the case of businesses) domiciled in the UK on 18 July 2022, you are automatically included in the collective claim (unless you chose to opt-out of the claim and informed Liz of that decision by 28 November 2022).

The class consists of all persons (including individuals and businesses) who, at any point during the period 1 October 2015 onwards, made for themselves and/or another person, one or more purchases of an app or digital content, services or subscriptions within an app (excluding Google apps) in the UK version of the Google Play Store from an Android smartphone or tablet on which the Google Play Store was pre-installed.

To be a member of the class you (or your business) need to:

1. Have made at least one relevant purchase since 1 October 2015. You must have made at least one purchase of an app, or digital content, services or subscriptions within an app since 1 October 2015. To check this:

   1. enter the Google Play Store on your Android smartphone or tablet, click on your account, select ‘Payments and subscriptions';
   2. then select ‘Budget and history’ and you will be able to view your purchase history.
   
   

   Alternatively, your purchase history can be viewed online by following this link: https://play.google.com/store, clicking on the ‘Account’ tab, clicking on the ‘Order History’ tab, and filtering ‘Categories’ by ‘Apps’.

   Your purchase history is linked to your Google account. Therefore, if you have made purchases in the Google Play Store using more than one Google account since 1 October 2015, please follow the above steps in respect of each of your Google accounts to collate a composite list of all purchases.

   Only payments that show up in your purchase history, and which do not relate to one of Google’s own apps, are relevant to the claim. Certain categories of payments in the Play Store, such as payments for taxi rides and food deliveries (e.g. most payments for a physical good or service) won’t show up in your purchase history and are not relevant to the claim. In addition, payments for or within Google apps (e.g. payments within the “Play Books” app) are also excluded from the claim.

2. Have made that relevant purchase on an Android smartphone or tablet on which the Google Play Store was pre-installed. You will only be eligible for inclusion in the class if you made the relevant purchase(s) on an Android smartphone or tablet on which the Google Play Store was pre-installed (i.e. installed by the manufacturer of your Android smartphone or tablet).
   
   
3. Have made that relevant purchase in the UK version of the Google Play Store. You will only be eligible for inclusion in the class if you used the UK version of the Google Play Store to make the relevant purchase(s). To check this:
   
   
   1. enter the Google Play Store on your Android smartphone or tablet, click on your account (the small icon with your photo or the first letter of the name you registered with in the top right-hand corner of your screen);
   2. go to ‘Settings’, click the drop-down box ‘General’, go to ‘Account and device preferences’ and check which country is listed (with a green tick beside it) under ‘Country and profiles’.
   
   

   Alternatively, you can check this online by following this link: https://play.google.com/store, clicking on your account icon in the top right-hand corner, clicking on the 'Payments and Subscriptions' tab, clicking on 'Manage Payment Methods' and then selecting the 'Settings' tab. The UK should be listed under 'Country/Region'.

   If the UK is listed, you are using the UK version of the Play Store. If you have made one or more relevant purchases in the Google Play Store using more than one Google account since 1 October 2015, please follow the above steps in respect of each of your Google accounts to check that each is registered to the UK version of the Google Play Store.

4. Be domiciled in the UK on 18 July 2022. The Competition Appeal Tribunal has established a ‘domicile date’ of 18 July 2022 – being the date on which all consumers and businesses who made relevant purchases in the UK version of the Google Play Store must be living or domiciled in the UK in order to be members of the class.

5. Not fall within one of the following excluded categories:
   
   
   1. Officers, directors or employees of Google, their subsidiaries and any entity in which they have a controlling interest;
   2. All members of Liz Coll and Google’s respective legal teams and all experts and professional advisors instructed and retained by them and all funders or insurers involved in connection with the collective claim;
   3. All members and staff of the Competition Appeal Tribunal assigned at any point to the collective claim;
   4. Any judge and Court staff involved in any appeal in the collective claim;
   5. Any deceased person; and
   6. Any registered corporate entity with legal personality which:
      
      
      1. has been struck off or dissolved pursuant to the Companies Act 2006 or equivalent legislation applying outside the United Kingdom; or
      2. has experienced the onset of insolvency within the meaning of section 240(3) of the Insolvency Act 1986 or equivalent legislation applying outside the UK; or
      3. is dormant within the meaning of the Companies Act 2006 or equivalent legislation applying outside the UK.

If your business was domiciled in the UK on 18 July 2022 and has made for itself, and/or another, one or more purchases of an app or digital content, services or subscriptions within an app from an Android smartphone or tablet in the UK version of the Google Play Store then yes, it is very likely to be part of the class unless an authorised business representative chose to opt-out the business from Liz’s claim and informed Liz of that choice by 28 November 2022.

At this stage, class members do not need to do anything. Updates on any developments will be promptly posted on this website so that you can stay up to date. In addition, if you register your interest in the collective claim, you will be notified of developments directly.

In the event that Liz secures compensation for the class, you will need to come forward and claim your share of any damages. Details of how to do this will be uploaded to this website when appropriate.

Liz is seeking an aggregate award of damages in the sum of hundreds of millions of pounds for the class, as a whole. Any aggregate award of damages will then need to be distributed to eligible class members.

As a class member, you will not incur any costs of taking part in the collective claim, nor will you be liable to Google for its costs should the collective claim be unsuccessful.

There is nothing preventing you from discussing the case and sharing updates on social media.